Michigan Department of Transportation crews work to demolish the Pleasant Valley overpass over the eastbound side of I-96 Thursday, Sept. 28, 2017 after a semi truck struck the overpass the previous afternoon.(Photo: Gillis Benedict/Livingston Daily)

The truck driver who struck the Pleasant Valley Road bridge over Interstate-96 last week was cited for operating an over-height vehicle and careless driving, police said.

Michigan State Police Sgt. George Bracco of the Brighton Post did not release the name of the driver, but said he is a 30-year-old Waterford man employed with MacAllister Machinery Rentals in Wixom. A check of the company’s website shows they are an equipment rental firm, and rent among other equipment boom lifts, which the driver was transporting on a flatbed truck.

“We don’t know for sure, but we think the boom raised during transportation,” said Bracco. “Due to the destruction of equipment, we can’t verify if it was strapped down properly or not.”

A man who answered the phone at MacAllister Machinery Rentals on Monday said the company had no comment.

Bracco said there did not appear to be any signs of alcohol or drug use by the driver. He said he was unaware of the man’s previous driving history. From a video obtained of the incident by another truck driver’s dash camera, speed did not appear to be a factor, said Bracco.

The accident, which occurred about 4:30 p.m., Sept. 27, forced the shutdown of all eastbound lanes of I-96 in Brighton Township near the scene.

Michigan Department of Transportation officials determined the Pleasant Valley Road bridge, which had four of its six beams significantly damaged, needed to be demolished and Z Contractors completed the demolition and clean-up shortly before 5 a.m. Sept. 29 at a cost of $93,900.

MDOT spokeswoman Kari Arend said Monday a meeting would be held “soon” to determine next steps on replacing the bridge, which she previously said could be closed for six months.

There are no cost estimates yet for bridge replacement, but the cost to replace the Eight Mile Road bridge over US-23, which was destroyed by a semi carrying an over-sized load in March 2016, was about $400,000. That accident shut down the overpass for three months.

“To have two of these bridge accidents in one county in a year-and-a-half is very strange, abnormal,” said Bracco.

Bridge height clearances are listed on each bridge. It is the responsibility of truck drivers to know the height of bridges on their routes and plan accordingly, she said. The Pleasant Road Bridge had a height of 14-feet 4-inches.

MDOT will be pursuing reimbursement of costs related to the replacement of the Pleasant Valley Road bridge with the insurance company covering MacAllister Rentals, Arend said.

Nearly 60,000 motorists were affected by the road closures in the most recent bridge crash, with approximately 50,000 vehicles traveling eastbound I-96 daily in the Brighton area and about 7,700 vehicles per day crossing the Pleasant Valley Road bridge over I-96.

Contact Susan Bromley at sbromley@livingstondaily.com or on Twitter at @SusanBromley10.